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I love exonyms when they are native. As you note, the English name for the Italian city is Florence (so too the proper English words are Turkey, Kiev and Pekin

I love exonyms when they are native. As you note, the English name for the Italian city is Florence (so too the proper English words are Turkey, Kiev and Peking, not Turkiye, Kyiv or Beijing). I see no reason at all to use the French name for a Flemish city when writing in English. When writing in French, sure.

seszett 2y ago
But Florence is the French name of that city. Or Rome. I don't really understand the difference with Louvain.
readthenotes1 2y ago
What was it called in 1914?
- hyperman1 2y ago
  Both. Belgium is multi-lingual (NL,FR,DE), so most cities and bigger towns have 2 or 3 names. In fact, today, most streets in Brussels have 2 names. So do a lot of big local companies Most local inhabitants would have called it Leuven, as it is a Flemish city. The rich people at that time, both inside and outside the city, heavily promoted French, and pushed only the French names in politics and international communication. Even today, this is a very touchy subject.
  - roelschroeven 2y ago
    Just some clarification on what Belgium's multi-linguality means exactly: Flanders is Dutch-speaking. Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, except for a small part of it which is German-speaking ( The Brussels Capital Region is officially bi-lingual Dutch/French, but in practice it's almost completely French. In restaurants, shops, ... you can be sure to find people who can help you in French, but almost never in Dutch. Police, hospitals, ... are supposed to be bi-lingual, but good luck getting good help if you speak Dutch but not French. In most places, you'll only encounter one language: your own native language. Only Brussels is supposed to be bi-lingual. Many cities do have two or three names, but that's not because those two or three languages are actually spoken in that city.
jltsiren 2y ago
Out of those, Florence and Turkey are proper exonyms. Kiev and Kyiv are direct romanizations of the Russian and Ukrainian names. Other languages have actual exonyms for the city, such as Kiova in Finnish and Kijow in Polish. Peking is a romanization of an older pronunciation, while Beijing is closer to the modern pronunciation of the same name.

seszett 2y ago

But Florence is the French name of that city. Or Rome. I don't really understand the difference with Louvain.

readthenotes1 2y ago

What was it called in 1914?

hyperman1 2y ago
Both. Belgium is multi-lingual (NL,FR,DE), so most cities and bigger towns have 2 or 3 names. In fact, today, most streets in Brussels have 2 names. So do a lot of big local companies Most local inhabitants would have called it Leuven, as it is a Flemish city. The rich people at that time, both inside and outside the city, heavily promoted French, and pushed only the French names in politics and international communication. Even today, this is a very touchy subject.
- roelschroeven 2y ago
  Just some clarification on what Belgium's multi-linguality means exactly: Flanders is Dutch-speaking. Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, except for a small part of it which is German-speaking ( The Brussels Capital Region is officially bi-lingual Dutch/French, but in practice it's almost completely French. In restaurants, shops, ... you can be sure to find people who can help you in French, but almost never in Dutch. Police, hospitals, ... are supposed to be bi-lingual, but good luck getting good help if you speak Dutch but not French. In most places, you'll only encounter one language: your own native language. Only Brussels is supposed to be bi-lingual. Many cities do have two or three names, but that's not because those two or three languages are actually spoken in that city.

jltsiren 2y ago

Out of those, Florence and Turkey are proper exonyms. Kiev and Kyiv are direct romanizations of the Russian and Ukrainian names. Other languages have actual exonyms for the city, such as Kiova in Finnish and Kijow in Polish. Peking is a romanization of an older pronunciation, while Beijing is closer to the modern pronunciation of the same name.